Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) has taken decisive action to address the issue of illegal stocking of dry waste on government lands. A staggering 24,390 Metric tonnes of dry waste were removed from a site near Shahpur colony, Sector 38 West, Chandigarh, which was being used by unauthorized junk dealers. The MCC swung into action after receiving information about the violation of Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2016 and Municipal Solid Waste Byelaws 2018.
Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra, IAS, personally visited the location and discovered that the waste dumped there belonged to a prestigious hotel chain. Instead of following proper waste disposal procedures, the hotel chain was illegally dumping the waste on the premises of unauthorized junk dealers. This practice not only flouted the Solid Waste Management Rules but also posed health risks to nearby residents. Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee officials revealed that along with dry waste, there was wet waste, including leftover food from the hotel. The accused, Anjay Jain, allegedly used to dry and sell this waste to poultry farms. Following the Commissioner’s directions, MCC teams utilized machinery, including JCB machines, tippers, and trolleys, to transport the dry waste to the Dry Waste processing plant at Daddumajra for scientific processing. The drive was conducted in coordination with the Chandigarh Pollution Control Board and the Police force. As a consequence of the violation, the MCC issued challans to the violators, Anjay Jain from Sector 48, and Vinay Kumar from Sector 38 West, imposing a penalty of Rs. 24,310. The Commissioner sternly warned all violators to remove their illegally stocked dry and wet waste immediately, emphasizing that legal action by the MCC would be taken against those who failed to comply and also directed relevant officers to install warning signboards on the reclaimed land to deter further violations.